Society & Culture & Entertainment Education

Dump Truck Training Simulators - An Introduction

Running a mine is an expensive operation.
Millions of dollars go into planning and and regulating each mine.
Professionals of all sorts of backgrounds provide vital expertise to ensure that the mine is safe, efficient, environmentally friendly, and profitable.
While lawyers and geologists have special roles to play in the day to day operations of mining, it is the heavy equipment operators that often make the biggest difference in the mining business.
The speed with which they work directly impacts profitability, but there are other important considerations as well.
For example, if a worker causes an accident, a significant portion of the operation - if not the entire thing - must cease while the costly effort of assessing the accident and bringing everything back up to speed.
Because the equipment used is so expensive, vehicle maintenance is an expensive cost for the mine.
If the operators can use the equipment in a way that preserves the life span of the equipment and minimizes maintenance costs, the entire venture will be more profitable.
Thus the reason for obtaining and maintaining a skilled, qualified workforce to operate the heavy machinery.
Mining companies have a huge interest in the skills of their machine operators because of the cost implications.
You can't have just anyone driving a multimillion dollar truck up a slippery ramp.
But the best learning is done by experience.
"You can't learn how to drive a truck by watching videos," one truck driver said.
"You have to get behind the wheel and do it.
" But mining companies can't afford to let people practice and learn from mistakes on their expensive equipment.
Luckily, there is an old technology that is being applied in a new way that saves money and provides good hands on training for equipment operators.
Equipment simulators.
Simulators have of course been around for decades, and even comprise a significant portion of video and computer games (recall driving simulators such as Gran Turismo and flight simulators such as Microsoft Flight Simulator).
These simulators can give operators real skills that will be invaluable in the day to day mining operations, yet are much less expensive than practicing on the real thing.
People can receive dump truck training in a state of the art simulator that recreates the mine environment and challenges people to complete real mining tasks.
This is not textbook learning - it is hands on practice that translates into the real world.
People who wish to become dump truck drivers in mines should look into these programs, which are very affordable.
No doubt an employer who sees that kind of experience on a resume will be pleased.


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